


A Little Dramatic

by templarsandhoes



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Gossip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 14:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7896598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/templarsandhoes/pseuds/templarsandhoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Commander McKenzie Shepard finally has Tali'Zorah on board the Normandy for good, she decides it's time for some good old fashioned gossip with her, Ashley Williams and Liara T'Soni. Just like old times.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Dramatic

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to the ME Flash Fan Work tumblr for August's theme of Friendships!

“Bullshit,” Ashley called out. Liara, Tali, and McKenzie Shepard all laughed in response. The four women laid together on Liara’s bed, reminiscing about their days aboard the SR-1.

“I can’t lie to you, LC. I definitely caught Wrex checking you out,” McKenzie said. She was, of course, lying. Ashley and her commanding officer couldn’t help but make each other squirm.

“Good thing you weren’t on board when Wrex and Eve were here. That would have been awkward,” Tali teased.

“I hate you all so much…”

“Yes, well. Wrex might be gone, but there’s still someone on board checking her out,” Liara slyly added. Ashley groaned, while Tali and McKenzie rolled around in a fit of giggles.

“How come we can’t make fun of McKenzie for dating Joker?” Ashley asked.

“We already have!” Tali exclaimed. “Trust me, I had that covered while we chased down the Collectors.”

“I always knew I could count on you, Tali,” said Ashley. They shared a laugh, while McKenzie rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think Liara invited us into her cabin to make fun of me,” McKenzie said.

“Maybe I did,” she responded, a grin growing on her face. McKenzie’s own grin disappeared, while Tali and Ashley kept laughing. The bed was probably too small for all four of them, their legs laying on top of one another.

“No, you invited us all here to de-stress. This isn’t making me less stressed.”

“It is for me,” Ash said, under her breath.

“I’m enjoying this as well,” Tali added. McKenzie rolled her eyes again, rolling her body dramatically in the middle of the bed.

“My own crew! So cruel!” she exclaimed, the back of her hand covering her forehead. “What have I done to deserve this?!”

“You hooked up with Joker!! All the good you’ve done gets negated by that,” Ashley exclaimed.

“Now that’s just mean,” McKenzie said, moving her hand away from her face.

“No, you’re right. God knows you’re the only woman in the galaxy that can put up with him,” she said.

“You… you’re right. I probably am,” she admitted. Everyone laughed. Loudly.

“I’ll never forget when McKenzie asked me, like, 3 days after I got on the Normandy if I thought Joker was cute.”

“It was more than 3 days…” McKenzie said quickly, a light blush starting to form on her cheeks.

“It wasn’t that long. You overheard Sarah’s vid message to me about Kaidan and you asked if I wanted to hook up with him. When I said no, you asked if I thought anyone else was cute.”

“I just wanted to talk! It’s a normal thing to talk about!” she said, quickly making excuses.

“To this day, I can’t believe you thought Joker was cuter than Kaidan.” Ashley said.

“What? No way,” Tali said. “You didn’t think Kaidan was cute?”

“Of course I did. But I think Jeff’s cuter. I mean, have you seen his eyes? They practically glow in the dark they’re so green.”

“You have to admit, he has nice eyes,” Liara said.

“Sure, but so does Garrus. I can’t be with someone just because they have pretty eyes,” Ashley said.

“Miranda’s eyes were pretty, too,” Tali added. McKenzie gasped.

“Oh my god, they were. Why does everyone have such pretty eyes?”

“Okay, but Cortez?” Ashley asked. McKenzie groaned.

“His eyes are fucking gorgeous. He’s fucking gorgeous,” she said. Tali laughed.

“Alright, McKenzie. Other than Joker, who’s the most attractive person on the crew?”

“Does the Cerberus crew count?”

“Sure,” she said. Liara and Ashley sat up, both watching her with anticipation.

“Easy. Thane.”

“Really!?” Tali exclaimed.

“Are you kidding? Thane was fucking sexy. And his voice…” she trailed off.

“Gotta agree with Shepard on this one. I was on some painkillers when I met him in the hospital and I thought he was an angel or something,” Ashley said.

“I never thought I’d be attracted to a drell. Honestly, Joker was lucky I was already into him. I would have been all over Thane if I wasn’t,” McKenzie admitted.

“He was attractive,” Liara added, quietly.

“You didn’t think he was a little hot?” McKenzie asked Tali.

“I did! But I don’t think he’s the most attractive,” she said. McKenzie quickly rolled her eyes.

“Don’t say Garrus…”

“No way you don’t think Garrus is hot,” Tali said.

“He doesn’t have lips, Tali! How do you kiss him?” Shepard yelled out. Ashley broke out in a fit a giggles. “Out of all the people we’ve met over the last few years and you think the most attractive of them is Garrus Vakarian,” she said, her tone dry. “Come on, Kasumi was hotter than Garrus.”

“You couldn’t see half of her face,” Tali said. The three women looked at Tali, all of them holding back a comment. “What… oh,” she said, realizing her mistake. Laughter filled Liara’s cabin again. McKenzie was pretty sure they could be heard through the walls, but she didn’t care. She loved having the three of them back together like this.

“I love you, Tali,” McKenzie said, wiping away a stray tear from her eye.

“Garrus is my final answer,” Tali said, crossing her arms across her chest. She moved back against the headboard, sliding next to Liara. They huddled together, Liara’s arms wrapping around her shoulder. Getting her remaining giggles out, McKenzie laid down across the end of the bed, her hand propping up her head.

“Ashley?”

“What,” she said, cautiously.

“Most attractive. Don’t worry, we won’t judge you if it’s-”

“James.”

“Well, that was quick.”

“He’s hot. Like, really hot,” she admitted.

“He’s attractive, but there’s something… maybe his humor. I don’t know,” Liara said.

“Yeah, he’s all yours, Ash. He’s definitely hot. Besides, he’s too young for me.”

“Tell me one thing. What did you do when he called you Lola for the first time?” Ashley asked.

“I punched him in the face,” she answered, matter-of-factly. Ashley stared at her, mouth slightly agape. “He wanted to spar!”

“Why do you tell stories like that?” Ashley asked, rolling her eyes. Liara laughed.

“I think she likes the reactions she gets,” she said, looking towards McKenzie.

“Sometimes I gotta be a little dramatic.”

“Little. A little dramatic, she says,” Ashley said towards Liara.

“Alright, Liara. Your turn.” Tali said.

“Me?”

“Most attractive.” McKenzie added. Her smile grew, and Liara looked away bashfully.

“When McKenzie came into my office on Illium, you came with… I believe her name was Jack..”

“Don’t be coy, Liara! You know that’s her name!” McKenzie practically shouted. Liara covered her face as the other three women laughed. “But, I gotta say. Jack looks damn good now,” she admitted.

“Now? You saw her?” Tali asked.

“Tali, she’s a teacher. For biotic students.”

“Shut up,” Tali said. If McKenzie could see past her helmet, she knew she would the quarian’s mouth would be open.

“And she’s quite good at it,” Liara added.

“If I ever went to school, I definitely would have tried to sleep with my teachers,” McKenzie said, while looking up at the ceiling.

“Maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t go to school, then,” Ashley said. McKenzie snorted. “Also now I know something about you that Joker doesn’t…” she trailed off, her voice teasing.

“No…” McKenzie warned. Liara, Tali, and Ashley all laughed at her expense. But she wasn’t angry or upset with them. In fact, she welcomed it. The war was starting to take it’s toll on her, the stress unable to be ignored. While there were ways to de-stress, things she could do to calm herself down, there was nothing McKenzie wanted to do more than this. McKenzie loved being a soldier, but she would always miss being able to just sit around and talk shit with her friends. She told Jacob a few weeks ago to take the moments where he could, but she found herself not listening to her own advice. And now that she finally did, she felt like she could take on the galaxy. And that’s exactly what she had to do.


End file.
